Noke Novelties are interesting aspects, picturesque moments, and other quaint nuances of or about the Roanoke area.

A few weeks ago, I proposed a question on Noke News as to the origin of a fountain that sits along Salem Avenue and at the intersection with Market Street.

I didn’t receive any responses to the question at the time, and until now have not been able to look into it and provide an answer on my own.

However, Tom Angleberger with The Roanoke Times provided an answer to the question in his latest (7/14/08) column titled “What’s On Your Mind?”

Here’s an excerpt:

Luckily, P.J. Grubb, a mechanical supervisor for Roanoke’s city government, was able to put it all together for us.

“As far back as I can remember the fountain was originally put in to water peoples’ horses while riding in downtown Roanoke some time back at the turn of the century,” he explained.

Officially, the fountain is still there for the police horses, but, with residential life growing downtown, it’s getting some new users.

“It seems that some of the people that live in various condos downtown also use the fountain to water their dogs while walking them.”

As a result of these findings, I’m happy to include this neat little historic piece on the list of Noke Novelties.